Daily Posts. Colorful Ideas & Inspirations.

Our team of writers brings you daily trend coverage, new products, inspiration, information and fun ideas. With an archive of more than 1,957 articles, you're sure to find something you love. Or if you have a great idea, let us know!

Love is most often associated with the color red. Be that by conditioning of incessant advertising or that we are drawn to it by nature. Secondary to red is of course pink, in almost any level of saturation.

Red is one of those colors that possesses the strongest Ying and Yang of its theoretical definitions. Between love and hate, rebirth and death, the human relationship in any combination, could literally be summed up in the meaning of the color Red. Pink has what I would describe as a temperamental scale, more based on softness versus loudness than the extreme left or right end of the spectrum.

As we know, colors can generate a wide variety of emotions. Red might be the most diverse and along with pink, a tag-along little sister, many other colors in tow can lend a visual message of love a great big pop!

"Cranes represent longevity and grace. The flocks ascend our champagne symphony, where love is blessed upon those who simply believe." - posted by artist at the listing

The artist gave us a wonderfully light feeling with this palette and the birds adding further motion. I also like how the painting balances the realities of "love" with a little bit of darkness in the bottom right corner. What do you think of this palette and representation of falling in love?

Poster design is a really fun, inexpensive and unique way to explore your creative side. From the 1,000's of fonts, variety of poster sizes, and layouts, sometimes, it's difficult to know where to start!

Once you master your design techniques visit Next Day Flyers for fast poster printing at great prices.

Today we are interviewing Jessica Sprague, design guru and owner of JessicaSprague.com. In February, Jessica is heading off a four week Poster Design course. She is also giving away not one, but TWO seats to this really awesome class! I couldn't be more excited about the class after taking Jessica's Subway Art class. I'm a busy mom, so I don't have a whole lot of time to join in a live class, which is why I love Jessica's classes- they are self-paced and available forever!

Can you tell us about yourself, how long have you been designing? Teaching? Do you have a job outside of JS.com?

In my former life I was a web & user interface designer for a software company, so I've been designing in some form or another for about 14 years. I started teaching digital scrapbooking, Photoshop, and graphic design in 2007 when I opened JessicaSprague.com. Since then it is my full-time job, and I love it!

What three (or less) singular colors do you most identify with, why?

My favorite color is green - I love it in almost all of its shades from lime to olive. It's the color of growth and regeneration, of calm energy, of prosperity, learning, balance, and harmony.

If you had to describe yourself [currently] as a five color palette, what colors would they be? Could you provide me with HEX codes so I can create a JS palette for you? :)

I feel like I am a blue, two greens, and a red, coupled with a dark grey. Hex: aed835, d9ea65, 81c9c0, a90c19, a90c19

The greens I've already described. The blue is an ocean representing responsibility, stability, trustworthiness. The red represents fire and emotion, and the dark grey brings some gravity, but also represents the dark that balances the lighter, fresher colors.

If you could be a shape, what shape would you be? (i.e. a polygon = triangle, hexagon etc...)

For those of you following Leatrice Eisemen's training schedule, her 4-Day Color Training Program is off to a start this very morning in Burbank, CA. LindaHolt and ModernMuse (aka Michelle Stroescu), the two COLOURlovers who won full and half scholarship for the class back in November are excitedly enjoying their first day of learning and meeting Leatrice.

Q & A From LindaHolt

Linda: I would love to know what the process is and what goes into choosing the Color of The Year?

Leatrice: I literally travel the world looking for clues. If I see a color that I think is ascending in importance, I make special note of it and then look for evidence in it gaining momentum. Fashion is always a good indicator, but it is not the only design area that must be examined. There are so much creative design areas that must be considered including graphics, the world of art, product design, home furnishings and so on . Another very important part of the choice is tapping into the “zeitgeist ‘ of the world around us and the emotional message that the color imparts. For example, with the that big gray elephant (the economy) still looming large and the concern that is being felt internationally, we would not want to choose a color that could be a “downer’. Instead we listen to people’s aspirations and try to give them a color that, at least symbolically, satisfies and encourages their needs and hopes.

Erin Loechner is a writer, stylist and designer. She is a quirky girl with lots of style and a great swagger about her. Everything she publishes on her site, Design For Mankind, pushes the envelope just enough to keep you interested and excited about trends and styles. She has graced the pages of many magazines all the while keeping up with trends and colors on her HGTV.com segment.

First up, why don't you tell the community a bit about who you are, what you do, how long you have been doing it, and your background.

I'm Erin Loechner, a 28-year-old freelance design writer and blogger (DesignForMankind.com). I dabble into styling, consulting and rearranging the furniture of any willing party! I'm also an online personality for HGTV.com.

At the beginning of every year I often wonder that the next big things are going to be in the wedding industry. It always excites me what crafty people can put together and bring to life. And every year I am more and more excited with where trends have taken us and where we are now.

2011: Ombre

Ombre hit big in 2011! It seemed like all of the sudden these monochromatic details were just the thing needed to create a romantic and elegant look. Of course, this trend will continue to hit weddings for years to come, but the gorgeousness that is ombre will definitely be remembered as the up-and-comer detail to have of 2011.

2012: Color Blocking

Color blocking became popular right before the close of 2011. Every designer, especially Kate Spade, was embracing pairing one bold color to another until you created a well-executed look that made you pop. This trend is something that hasn't hit the wedding industry too hard just yet, but come 2012, we will see it in both subtle and obvious ways.

We bring you a great interview with Jason Allen, of Haft2.com, an intriguing firm that focuses on, yeah, you guessed it, color! The focal point today is to showcase their 2012 Haft2COLOUR Calendar Project, and absolutely amazing piece of quality!

It's not too late for 2012 calendar printing projects, visit Next Day Flyers for good prices and fast turnaround.

I was highly impressed with the presentation of the calendar. It was delivered in a nice silver tin with a branded paper wrap and a wonderful opening letter about the project and the Haft2 mission - I felt like I had just received a very nice gift!

Haft2 is giving away three calendars to some lucky winners on a fun challenge (see bottom of post). I would like to add that I just so happened to come across this project originally from the comments on our previous post about 2012 Calendar Print Trends. I just had to know more about it, see the real deal and get to know what Haft2 and Jason were all about. I'm sure glad I did.

When it’s in its final shrunken state, this plastic is incredibly durable and it can be sanded or drilled into just like wood, Plexiglas or metal. So, when you’re creating pendants, charms, or, in the example I’ll share with you here, “beads,” even if you forget to punch holes in it before you shrink it, you can always drill holes afterward.

Start with clear shrink plastic. It comes semi-clear or in several solid colors, but for this particular technique, clear works best. Drop alcohol ink (my favorites are Ranger Ink’s Adirondacks) onto scraps of the plastic, or, full sheets if you prefer. It’s fun to watch the ink blend and redistribute itself. This ink comes in a large assortment of colors, so it’s easy to find and use your favorite palette!

Fashion trends generally change by the season as opposed to by the year, but here we will highlight some of the top trends of this past year along with what we can expect to see this coming year. And we have some good news on the color front.

Things are brightening up in the fashion world this year! For the past few years we have seen a growing trend in brighter colors hitting the market and becoming fast trends. Spring 2011 we saw lots of orange hitting the runways, such as these orange pieces below.

2011 was also a great year for the bowtie. This trend hit fast and heavy in 2011, and we can definitely expect to see a lot more of this trend in 2012. And as far as colors? No color or bright pattern is too awesome to match with your outfit.

Home decor has become quite a happening thing that can encompass your whim and personality more and more. It is more widely accepted to make your space a unique one instead of trying to keep up with the Jones'. Let's take a look at what trends became red hot in 2011 and are sure to become more so as 2012 launches off.

Owls & Birds

The owl is a decor trend that has been there all along in some shape or form since the 1900's. Through taxidermy, design inlay on a leather piece or stitched in to a hanky, these mysterious night creatures have been a part of our culture as a piece of interest for a very long time. I remember my grandmother had a macramé owl in her indoor greenhouse when I was a child and other various owl decor in a very 1970's fashion.

The recent trend of owls from about 2009 through the present has definitely picked up on a new level of design playing off of vintage styles with a modern day twist that makes them not so tasteless, but fascinating and simply adorable from everything home decor, holiday ornaments, fashion and party decor. People can't seem to get enough owl.

So many great things have happened on COLOURlovers in 2011, but one major, behind the scenes project that only a very small portion of members have been aware of was a quilt project straight from the heart of the Group: COLOURlovers onSpoonflower.

Group administrator, leader and very involved COLOURlover, Penina, wanted her group to be something more than just a group of people who loved the idea of fabric. So one fine day back in July 2011, after coordinating ideas to make a digital quilt from the group member creations, she had the thought, “What’s stopping us from making a real quilt?!”

Penina wanted this quilt project to have purpose and to involve as many group members as possible. This also meant that the final piece would need to have a good home at a single location; so who would get the quilt?